Planting density in cowpea productivity and weed suppression

The objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of the planting density of cowpea on the production and weed suppression. The cowpea cultivars used were BRS Arace and BRS Guariba. The experiment was a split plot scheme in a randomized complete block design. The plots treatments were the densities and the subplots were the weed control methods. The BRS Arace populations that maximized the interception of irradiance were 166,667 and 181,739 plants ha-1, before flowering and during the full bloom, respectively. The highest numbers of pods per plot and grain productivity were found in the populations of 128,000 and 121,000 ha-1plants in BRS Arace.